A somewhat mythical creature that was said to be slayed by european knights in medieval times, and were regarded as a symbol of good luck to the Chinese.

I just think they are really awesome.

Note: The below is in my Christian Creationist view, dont read this if you Are offended with my viewpoints. I am bombarded with evolutionist viewpoints on the internet each day, allow me to have my viewpoints, if you'd be so kind:

The Bible was known to mention dragons. In fact the old testament mentions the word dragon 21 times, take note of the mentioning specifically in the book of Job.

Take note that Job is the oldest book in the Bible:

Job 40:19 And of the leviathan, the greatest of the ocean animals, God said that even the leviathan could not "stand before me" Job 41:34,10

(The leviathan, also called a dragon, was noted as one of the greatest beasts, along with the behemoth, in the Old testement.)

Job was more than likely mentioning of the Dinosaurs that were living in his time.

Or, more specifically Job was probably mentioning a Whale (Hebrews translates this is "tanniynim" literally translated as Dragon, but this cant be as Job 41:1-34 mentions the Leviathan as a firebreather, (which is not surprising, as there is a beetle today which has an explosive-causing mechanism.)

(Please excuse the length of this definition, but I enjoy being thorough.)

In the traditional sense, dragons were large reptilian creatures first thought of in the medieval time. (medieval in the eastern and western sense.) In western realsm, the dragon was a greedy, tyranical brute who ate damsels, demolished villages, and kept a huge treasure hoarde. Mostly portrayed as a generally lizard-like creature with many crests and horns, terribley sharp claws, large teeth, sometimes quills or fur, and almost always wings. (Different variants occured, such as the wingless two-legged Linwurm, and the scorpion-tailed wyvern.)They might've also had a lion's or dog's head.

In the eastern realms, dragons were beneficial and wise. They did of course keep their treasure hoardes, a dragon is nothing without his shinies. (They're very good eating.)They were snakelike, colourful, posessed deer-antlers, usually had a mane of fur or a crest of the stuff running down their back. They were awfully powerful beings, usually close to the gods, and lived in mountains, and sometimes in the ocean. I don't kinow much more...I'm pretty sure they could breathe scalding water instead of fire.

Nowadays, dragons are an icon. Anime' abuses them, fantasy novels use them, and D&D keeps them sacred. In DD, there are two main types of dragons, called true dragons(western variety).

Here's a list...

Metallic (Good) Dragons

Gold: Looks much like a cross between a western and eastern dragon, breathes
fire, very wise. (Wings look like large fins.)

A mythical creature resembling a reptile. Usually huge and ridiculously powerful; often flies or spits fire and/or venom out of its mouth. May be benevolent or pure evil; usually depends on what part of the world the legend is coming from.